Article Information

• ARTICLE_POSTED_BY: Haiti Place Staff
• ARTICLE_POSTED_ON: May 01, 2015
• Views : 857
• Likes : 3
• Category : Health Care
• Description : <strong>A new company connecting the Diaspora and the Caribbean has been launched in New Jersey by the Haitian-American entrepreneur Claudel Robert. Glodeon allows members of the Diaspora to pay online for the prescriptions of their families and friends in the Caribbean directly to the Pharmacy.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;We had a conversation with Claudel Robert about what inspired him to start Glodeon, its services and future goals</strong>.

Overview

• Claudel Robert
  A new company connecting the Diaspora and the Caribbean has been launched in New Jersey by the Haitian-American entrepreneur Claudel Robert. Glodeon allows members of the Diaspora to pay online for the prescriptions of their families and friends in the Caribbean directly to the Pharmacy.
  
  We had a conversation with Claudel Robert about what inspired him to start Glodeon, its services and future goals.
  
  What inspired you to start Glodeon?
  
  What inspired me to start this project were the numerous discussions with some of the consumers who send money home on a regular basis.
  
  I know a couple of people who run tax-return stores, check cashing, and money transfer small businesses. In talking to them and their customers, one of the things that I noticed across the board were those unique situations where a person in the Diaspora would send cash to their family members in the Caribbean, and a few days later they would request additional money. But this time, it was for something associated with healthcare, for example, to buy medicine. In some cases, that was not necessarily true. It was just a way of getting sympathy so that the person in the Diaspora can send the money right away.
  
  A similar situation happened in my family. A relative from Haiti used to request money for medication from our family in the US. We found out later that this was not the real reason why the person needed the money.
  
  I felt that it was unfortunate. The people in the Diaspora are emotionally driven when they hear that someone needs money for prescription, and they feel compelled to actually transfer the money home right away. They then come to find out that it’s not always the case.
  
  Having witnessed these different scenarios, that’s when it all came together and I said: “There must be a better way.”
  
  How does Glodeon solve this issue?
  
  With Glodeon, people in the Diaspora can pay for their family members’ prescriptions online and know for sure that the money is going directly to the pharmacy. At the same time, the cost per transaction is a small flat fee of $4.50. It overwhelmingly reduces the amount you would pay to transfer money for prescriptions.
  
  Also, from a budgetary standpoint, if you have an elderly person for example who needs recurring prescription, let’s say every month, you can budget specifically for that purpose since they will need to refill their prescription.
  
  Over the long run Glodeon will have a tremendous impact in the lives of its consumers by having a say on how funds are to be used. The transmitted funds will be used exclusively for the stated purpose in the request. This also offers piece of mind when dealing with aging parents and family members in the Caribbean. You can rest assure that they will get their prescriptions in a timely manner.
  
  How does Glodeon change the way pharmacies in the Caribbean do business?
  
  Glodeon helps pharmacies do better business by removing the transaction costs typically incurred from the major credit card processors like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and others. We don’t charge a transaction fee to the pharmacy. Transactions through Glodeon carry zero fees; that’s a big overall cumulative saving to the pharmacy.
  
  What plans do you have for Glodeon moving forward?
  
  In our Phase II offering, our goal is to open our network to the Latin American market. Additionally, Glodeon’s mission to bring people closer and to address core, everyday living issues, drive us to keep developing new solutions. Our next product will allow our consumers from the Diaspora to pay with an eToken for their loved ones’ food purchased at any supermarkets across the Caribbean.
  
  What drives you to push Glodeon’s mission?
  
  It was always my goal to connect the Caribbean islands to the Diaspora. When I look at the 24.2 billion dollars of remittance that flows from the Diaspora to the Caribbean islands, a high percentage of that amount are fees. My mission is to disrupt the business as usual, the norm, and make it a little easier for our customers since I know that people in the Diaspora work hard for their money. My aim is to provide a solution that will help them pay less in terms of fees, and to still continue to support their families back home in the Caribbean.
  
  ———
  
  Claudel Robert is an Information Technology professional with in-depth experience in enterprise-level solutions for a range of industries: Pharmaceuticals, Banking, Medical Device, and HealthCare.
  
  He founded ScanArc Solutions in 2007 to help small and mid-size companies meet their Enterprise Document Imaging, Archiving, Retention and Management goals.
  
  He launched his newest project, Glodeon, in 2015 to connect members of the Diaspora to their families in the Caribbean.